Observance of first Saturdays in reparation to our Lady is often confused with first Friday devotions. It was specifically requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary for the troubling times that we live in. The central theme of the first Saturday devotion is repentance, conversion and reparation.
Here are five things to know about the First Saturday devotion:
- How did the first Saturday devotion begin?
On December 10, 1925, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Sister Lucia at a convent in Pontevedra, Spain. She requested the institution of the five consecutive First Saturday devotions in reparation to her immaculate heart. This happened eight years after the visions at Fatima.
- Why five consecutive months?
The five consecutive months correspond to five different blasphemies against the Immaculate Heart of Mary as revealed by our Lady to sister Lucia;
- Against her Immaculate conception.
- Against her perpetual Virginity.
- Against her place as the mother of God and mother of all humanity.
- Those who openly seek to foster in the hearts of children indifference or even hatred, for this immaculate mother
- Those who directly insult her holy images.
- What am I supposed to do on First Saturdays?
First, you have to go for confession. Go to Mass on that day and receive Holy Communion with the sole intention of making reparation for the blasphemies and ingratitude done to the immaculate Heart of Mary. Summarize the exercise by reciting the five decades of the rosary and meditating on the mysteries (one or all) of the rosary for 15 minutes.
- What are the “promises” connected to this devotion?
Anyone who practices this devotion with faith, Our Lady has promised to assist at the hour of death as she revealed to sister Lucia. She said, “Look, my daughter, at my heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the rosary, and keep me company for 15 minutes while meditating on 15 mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”
- Are the First Saturdays just another “ticket” to heaven?
Yes, Mary wishes to draw her children closer to her son Jesus Christ through the first Saturday devotion. It is not an easy task but by practicing these extra devotions, we allow Mary to form our hearts and prepare us for a long relationship with Christ.
First Saturday devotion gives us the opportunity to reconcile with God and receive Holy Communion frequently. It is a wise decision to keep Mary company on first Saturdays knowing all the benefits that come with it. The message of Fátima is, in its basic nucleus, a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel.—Pope St. John Paul
Summarized by Theresa Frances